MOSCOW - Four people were killed Monday when a truck packed with explosives blew up as security forces carried out a "special operation" against suspected militants in the province of Ingushetia near Chechnya in Russia's volatile Caucacus region, media reports said.
The incident occurred in the village of Yekazhevo near Nazran, the main city in Ingushetia. The four victims, all men, were sitting in two passenger cars parked beside the truck tha exploded, Interfax news agency said.
Russia's Channel One television network said the truck disintegrated from the force of the blast, which scattered fragments of the vehicle 100 meters (330 feet) away.
Two of the four victims were identified, the television report said, adding that one of them was a relative of Doku Umarov, the new leader of the self-styled Chechen rebel "government".
07/10/2006 06:21 GMT